REMEMBERING AS A CULTURAL PROCESS

Preface: Why a cultural approach to memory?
Chapter 1: Rethinking metaphors of memory: A conceptual history
Chapter 2: Theories of constructive remembering
Chapter 3: Microgenesis of remembering
Chapter 4: Narrative forms: The recall of national history
Chapter 5: Conflict, memory and positioning
Chapter 6: Urban memory: Stories of revolution
Chapter 7: Memorials and grief: The materiality of memory
Concluding remarks.

This brief charts out principles for a cultural psychology of remembering. The idea at its core is a conceptualization of remembering as a constructive process--something that occurs at the intersection of a person and their social-cultural world. To do this, it moves away from the traditional metaphor of memory as storage and develops the alternative metaphor of construction as part of wider social and cultural developments in society. This new approach is developed from key ideas of Lev Vygotsky and Frederic Bartlett, in particular their concepts of mediation and reconstructive remembering. From this foundation, the authors demonstrate how remembering is conflictual, evolving, and transformative at both the individual and collective level. This approach is illustrated with concrete case studies, which highlight key theoretical concepts moving from micro-level processes to macro-level social phenomena.
Among the topics covered are:
• The microgenesis of memories in conversation
• The role of narrative mediation in the recall of history
• Remembering through social positions in conflicts
• Urban memory during revolutions
• How memorials are used to channel grief and collective memory

Remembering as a Cultural Process traces our ongoing journey to answer the question of the different ways in which culture participates in and is constitutive of what it means for humans to remember. It will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers in the fields of memory studies or cultural psychology.

Features
• Provides an overview of a new theoretical framework that is contextualized within the history of ideas
• Provides a variety of methodological approaches for studying remembering as part of a cultural process
• Offers case studies taken from countries around the world (e.g., England, Spain, Egypt and U.S.A.)